DON'T PANIC:
Beginner's Guide to Building a Club Website

by Dave Watterson

Your club needs a website. You're willing, but new to this
... let's take it step by step ... and make a website ...

First hints

You are reading this page with a web browser. It may be
called Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, Opera, Chrome for
example. All web browsers let you open two or more tabs at
once. Often you do this by clicking a + sign near the top left
of your screen. In Safari right-click on
the top of the window and choose "New Tab" from the pop-up
menu. In the illustration below we see the BBC weather
page and the IAC website. To switch from one to the other,
click on the name of the one you want to see.

Why have two views of the web? So that you can read
these notes in one window, while creating your new
website in the other.

Your computer probably already has a
pdf reading program on it. If not , you can download
and install one free of charge. The people who
invented pdfs are Adobe and you can get their reader
program here.

My personal preference is Foxit Reader which is much
smaller and quicker than the Adobe version - click on
its name to get it. Both are free. Take care to untick
the boxes beside any extra toolbar or program offers
when you download and install them.

Copy and Paste

It is often useful to copy text and pictures from
somewhere and paste them into your website. For
example you might draft the text for a page on a
word-processor. The simplest way to do this is
to click your mouse cursor just before the start of
the first word, keep the mouse button down and drag
the cursor along to the end of the last word. That selects
the text.

On a PC you then hold down the key marked Ctrl
and press C to copy it. Click to the window
with your website design on it, click where you want
the words to go, hold down the key marked Ctrl
and press V. (Logically it should have been
C for copy and P for paste, but the P was already
being used to mean print.)

For Mac users it is almost the same but instead of
"Ctrl" key use the Command key (marked with an
apple or four scrolls making a square) and press C or
V.)

You have to start somewhere !

Producing a website is an repetitive process batting ideas
back and forth. But you have to start somewhere so that others
can react. Also you might be impatient like me - so I suggest
we make a start right now. Once your first rough website is up
... then have a planning session with others and adapt the
website to suit. That way your planning group has something to
start from. And you have proved that you can do it.

Tools?

You can spend hundreds on professional
web creation tools. You can download umpteen free web
making tools. Guess which type I suggest? Neither!

For this course we will use Weebly. Yes,
it is a silly name. Yes, it is full of American
enthusiasm. Yes, it invites you to pay for the "pro"
version but with the free Weebly system you
can build attractive websites quickly - and many
movie making clubs have done so. Using a common
system allows us to give specific notes instead of
vague generalised ones.

You do not need to download any programs. The
work is all done online.

Weebly "hosts" your website (see box on the
right).

It is free and does not add adverts other than
a discreet mention of its own services.

It does not matter whether you use Windows,
Apple, Linux or any other computer system.

If necessary you can see and change the code
that is behind-the-scenes,

but mostly all the technical stuff is handled
by them without us having to worry about it.

It helps keep page designs consistent.

And no, we don't get paid by them for
recommending you to try Weebly!

Hosting

Any website must be "hosted"
(stored) on a computer which is always on and
always linked to the internet.

It is not practical to do that on
your own home computer, so you keep a copy
of the website on a computer owned by a specialist
company.

Companies which supply this
service are called "web hosts". You can find
companies to host your website for a fee.
Some host free but
usually with adverts.

Weebly is unusual in being both
free and without adverts.

One small problem

Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser (version 6)
sometimes has problems with Weebly websites. We do
not regard that as a big issue. In March 2014 fewer
than 5% of web users worldwide and fewer than 1% in
UK worked with that version of the browser and the
percentage is dwindling sharply. Most people have
moved to later versions of Internet Explorer or use
other browsers.

Share your passions.

Share your stories.

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Art work by Tony Kendle.